Ajinkya Rahane Opens Up On His Record MCG Stand With Virat Kohli In 2014

India batting ace Ajinkya Rahane on Wednesday recalled his famous 262-run partnership with skipper Virat Kohli against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2014. The right-handed batsman recalled the record stand while he was interacting through an Instagram Live session with his new IPL team Delhi Capitals.

Both Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had scored stunning hundreds during their monumental partnership for the fourth wicket. India were under pressure after Australia posted a mammoth 530 in their first innings. But riding on centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli, India fought valiantly and scored 465. The match eventually ended in a draw.

Kohli had scored 169 while Ajinkya Rahane scored 147. In the second innings too, both of them impressed as Kohli scored 54 while Ajinkya Rahane missed his fifty by just two runs.

“Frankly when I was seating inside the dressing room, Virat and Murali Vijay were batting and then when I went out to bat, our score was 170 for 3 (147 for 3). The ball had become old till then. I was thinking how can I attack and score runs. I was not thinking about surviving. When I went, initially I took my time for 25-30 minutes. Once I got to know about the wicket, our communication backed our instincts,” Ajinkya Rahane said in the Instagram live session.

If not for the pandemic, Ajinkya Rahane would have been playing for Delhi Capitals right now in the IPL. Before the auction, Rajasthan Royals had traded the batsman with the Delhi-based outfit. IPL 2020 was scheduled to start on March 29 but earlier this month, the BCCI suspended it indefinitely in the light of the pandemic. With the lockdown unlikely to be lifted any time soon, the IPL is unlikely to happen this summer.

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